Be careful. I went to karaoke many times in China... make sure you ask for prices beforehand. While most nights were relatively inexpensive (even when I was treating my Chinese friends), costing maybe US$40 or so for a couple hours with drinks and snacks, one place we went to gave me a bill for something like US$500 - US$40 for a plate of sliced watermelons, for example. The host was rather upset when I told him that even though I was an American, I didn't carry 4000 kuai on me... and so, yeah. Long story short, my Chinese friend gave up his cell phone as half the payment. Make sure you ask for prices beforehand so they can't scam you.
I never actually went to a KTV place (my Chinese friends disliked the place), but to various bars, restaurants and private clubs for karaoke. Quite a bit of fun, and even the private club that ripped us off was a great time before we got the bill.
Even though my Chinese is pretty 馬馬虎虎，because I listen to Chinese music all the time, I have the lyrics to five or six songs memorized, and can thus follow along with the characters on the screen just fine. Which makes it look like I was actually reading all those characters, which blew the minds of the random Chinese people around, leading to them talking to me in bullet-fast Chinese, thinking I was fluent.
Posted on: KTV
May 28, 2008 at 5:15 PMBe careful. I went to karaoke many times in China... make sure you ask for prices beforehand. While most nights were relatively inexpensive (even when I was treating my Chinese friends), costing maybe US$40 or so for a couple hours with drinks and snacks, one place we went to gave me a bill for something like US$500 - US$40 for a plate of sliced watermelons, for example. The host was rather upset when I told him that even though I was an American, I didn't carry 4000 kuai on me... and so, yeah. Long story short, my Chinese friend gave up his cell phone as half the payment. Make sure you ask for prices beforehand so they can't scam you.
I never actually went to a KTV place (my Chinese friends disliked the place), but to various bars, restaurants and private clubs for karaoke. Quite a bit of fun, and even the private club that ripped us off was a great time before we got the bill.
Even though my Chinese is pretty 馬馬虎虎，because I listen to Chinese music all the time, I have the lyrics to five or six songs memorized, and can thus follow along with the characters on the screen just fine. Which makes it look like I was actually reading all those characters, which blew the minds of the random Chinese people around, leading to them talking to me in bullet-fast Chinese, thinking I was fluent.